


The Third Law

by CyrusBreeze



Series: Fifteen Fics I’ll Never Fucking Finish [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, Sex Work Is Work, Single Parents, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 15:38:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14358477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyrusBreeze/pseuds/CyrusBreeze
Summary: For every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction.-Newton’s Third LawNatasha Romanov is a single mom to a five and one year old struggling to make ends meet. After unfortunate circumstances require her to bring her toddler to class, she meets the kind, seemingly mild-mannered professor, Dr. Banner. The connection is near instant, but both of them have their secrets. Natasha is terrified of losing her kids due to her job as a stripper, and Bruce is still recovering from an event that took a lot out of him. Will the two of them fall in love or will their lives fall apart?





	The Third Law

**Author's Note:**

> Good morning y’all! Here’s another installment of Fifteen Fics I’ll Never Fucking Finish feat. My Favorite Het Ship: BruceNat. 
> 
> This was inspired by SESTA and my belief that sex work don’t by _consenting_ adults should not be criminalized. That said, this fic is just a little much for me to take on at the moment, but we shall see. 
> 
> Anyway, this fic was brought to you by getting hella fucking drunk and arguing with my crush, butterbeer, vodka, fireball, and crackers. (Shoutout to Dia at my good Baptist college) 
> 
> Per usual, this is unedited and I make literally zero promises about quality.

Natasha Romanov’s morning was not off to a great start. Besides it being the first day of school for her and her kindergartner, her younger, eighteen month old, had vomited all over himself because he had eaten too quickly. Things were not going smoothly, and the twenty year old was already utterly exhausted despite it barely eight o’clock in the morning. 

Aleksandra, her oldest, was standing by the door, dressed in a rain jacket and rain boots, prepared for the rain that would inevitable make their morning even more hectic. Not to mention that getting Aleksandra to school would require a long trip on the subway, which Aleksandra actively deplored. Natasha bounced Mikhail, her baby, on her hip and then smiled at her youngest. 

“Time to go, princess,” she said to her daughter. 

“Are you ready for school?” She asked. 

“I don’t like my uniform,” said Aleksandra dejectedly. 

“I know, and I’m sorry, baby,” said her mom. “But this a really nice school so you’ve got to wear the uniform.” 

Natasha was shocked when she found out that her daughter had been accepted to Avenues: The World School, on a full ride scholarship, namely because Natasha had never applied. But a worker at the state run center that Aleksandra had attended had seen the potential in her and had applied for Aleksandra to receive a grant to attend. Mikhail attended the same center, and he received just as much love and affection as Aleksandra had. 

Natasha swung Mikhail’s bag onto her shoulder and grabbed Aleksandra ‘s hand. It was a short trek to the subway stop, but Natasha didn’t exactly trust her daughter to wander New York City freely. 

Natsha’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she sighed as she released Aleksandra hand and fished it out. It was Mikhail’s daycare. 

“Hello,” said Natasha. 

“Hi, Natasha,” said the center’s owner. “I’m so sorry to tell you this, especially because I know that you have school and it’s probably crazy today, but we have streptococcus going around.” 

“Fuck,” Natasha swore.

“Momma, you said a bad word,” piped up Aleksandra. 

“Shhh, Sasha,” said Natasha. “Momma’s on the phone.” 

“But you said a swear word,” repeated Aleksandra 

“Sasha,” said Natasha in a warning tone before turning her focus back to the phone. 

“Unfortunately,”continued the director. “ it centered in the infant, toddler, and three year old classroom, and we haven’t identified the source. But so far we’ve got nine kids out with it.” 

Natasha glanced at her dark haired son and placed a kiss to his head. She couldn’t risk little guy getting sick, not when something like strep could put him in the hospital for weeks. “Thanks for notifying me,” said Natasha. “I’ll figure something out.” 

“I’m so sorry,” the center director said. 

“It’s okay,” said Natasha with a sigh. “Have a good day.” 

“You too,” said the director, and then she disconnected the call. 

Natasha sighed, and then quickly tapped Clint’s phone number. 

“Hello,” Clint answered on the first ring. 

“Hey, could you watch Misha today until I get out of class. I’ll have to call of work but his daycare has strep and it’s too late to call the backup babysitter.” 

“Uh,” Clint paused. “I’m in Trenton.” 

“Why?” Asked Natasha, confused. 

“Last minute filing of paperwork so that we can legally move Cooper to the city. Laura’s ex is an asshole,” said Clint. “We should be done by nine, and no later than ten o’clock, so I’ll be able to pick him up from campus at a little after eleven.” 

“I have class at 10:10,” Said Natasha. “I’ll have to miss, which won’t look great considering that it’s the first day.” 

“I’m sorry,” said Clint. 

“It’s not your fault,” Natasha reassured her oldest and best friend. “I gotta let you go; I have to get Sasha to school.” 

“Okay,” said Clint. “I’ll meet you at 11:10 in the library, okay?” 

“Yeah,” see you then. Natasha ended the call and then sighed.

They had reached the subway stop, and Natasha returned to holding Aleksandra ‘s hand so that she didn’t get lost in the crowd. She quickly maneuvered herself and her kids through the gates and onto the platform to wait for the subway. 

The subway came relatively quickly and Natasha stepped aboard. She found a seat for herself and aleksandra and she placed Mikhail on her lap. The subway was noisy, and Aleksandra laid her head on Natasha’s shoulder. Natasha shifted Mikhail on her lap and then pulled out her phone. 

She opened her school email app and then quickly messaged her Physics professor, Dr. Banner. 

_Good morning Dr. Banner,_

_I’m in your section 11 physics class at 10:10 this morning. I will not be able to attend class this morning as I have a special needs child who attends daycare. His center had a streptococcus infection, and he can’t attend because even minor infections can put him into the hospital for several weeks._

_I apologize for the inconvenience and I would truly appreciate it if you could email the syllabus to me so that I may be prepared for class on Wednesday._

_Regards,_  
Natasha Romanov  
Class of 2021  
Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science 

Natasha tapped send and then shifted Mikhail agin in her lap. He was getting heavy these days, and it would be weeks before the Medicaid would come in for him to get a medical stroller, and Natasha still would have to work longer on some weekends to cover the copay. 

Her phone buzzed, her professor’s reply shockingly fast. 

Just bring him to class 

Dr. B  
-sent from my iPhone

Natasha nearly dropped her phone in shock. She would be able to attend class and still watch Mikhail. It was almost perfect. Natasha sighed and leaned her head against the subway window. She was exhausted already, and her day had just begun. 

“It’s our stop, momma,” said Aleksandra a moment later. “It’s our stop!” 

“Yes, it is, Sasha,” said Natasha. She grabbed her daughter’s hand and Sasha beamed. 

“It’s time for school!” She cheered. 

“Alright, lets go,” said Natasha. She told, grabbed Aleksandra ‘s hand and then stepped off the subway. A moment later they were on one of the busiest streets in manhattan. Natasha tightened her grip on her son and her daughter as they maneuvered through the crowd. 

“School! School!” Aleksandra was cheering. 

Natasha shook with something that was akin to nervousness. Her daughter was attending one of the most prestigious schools in New York, on a scholarship, and here she was, a poor, single mom walking down a street where it was obvious that she didn’t belong. 

They quickly arrived at the school and Natasha stepped through the doors and scanned the parent tag that she had been given. The halls were busy but Aleksandra, with her photographic memory, expertly dragged them to the elevators and then pressed the button for the third floor. 

There was another parent and child in the lift. A tall, well dressed woman with a gorgeous designer dress and heels stood in the lift with her blonde haired son who looked like his uniform was designer as well rather than the simply clothing assigned by the school. 

The woman looked at her, eyes peering over her designer glasses. 

“I tell you,” said the woman, glancing directly at Natasha. “I hate that some of these parents are so uninvolved that they send the nanny to drop their kids off on the first day.” 

Natasha cheeks flamed red, but she didn’t say a word. 

“That’s not a nanny!” Said aleksandra boldly. “She’s my momma!” 

Natasha could not turn any redder if she tried. 

The woman glanced at her and raised her perfectly colored on eyebrows. “Well, I see that the scholarships are getting ever more generous by the year.” 

Natasha’s tight lipped smile turned into a sharp scowl and she frowned at the woman. She felt like her entire life was on display, like somehow this judgmental woman knew that Natasha’s primary source of income was taking her clothes off at the high end strip joint down the street. It made good money, and Natasha wasn’t embarrassed about it in the slightest. Her biggest concern was the fact that busybodies liked to stick their nose in her business, and she had friends who had lost their kids because they did sex work. 

Thankfully, the elevator arrived at the spot. 

Natasha could not have been more dismayed when she saw that the woman in question also turned toward the classrooms for the Mandarin track. Natasha wished that it was early enough to switch, but Aleksandra had spent days watching Mandarin cartoons in preparation for attending school in Mandarin. 

Natasha sighed, and she was quietly relieved when the woman and her son turned into the classroom before Aleksandra ‘s. 

Aleksandra squeezed her mom’s hand. 

“I love you momma and Misha,” Said Aleksandra. 

Natasha’s squatted to her daughter’s level, and Aleksandra enveloped Natasha and Misha of them into a hug. 

“You have a good day at school okay?” Natasha said to her daughter in Russian. 

“Da,” Said Aleksandra, beaming. 

Natasha released her daughter and smiled. Aleksandra turned, open the door of her classroom, and stepped into the world beyond. 

-X- 

Dr. Robert Bruce Banner did not particularly enjoy teaching, especially not entry level physics, but the school funded his research, so he did not complain when he was forced to teach a lecture hall full of freshman. It wasn’t that he hated lecturing freshman; it was quite the opposite. He loved lecturing freshman, but physics was treated as a weed out class for engineering majors, and it sucked to watch the life be zapped from the eyes of his once eager freshman. It was why, when a freshman in his class had emailed him about missing class because her son couldn’t get sick, he offered to let her bring him to class. 

The freshman in question entered the lecture hall at 10:07, Bruce knew because she was relatively young, and she hefted a small toddler on her hip. 

The girl approached him. She looked like a typical student, young, but with bright red curls and a soft smile 

“Good morning, Dr. Banner,” she said. “I emailed you earlier about my lack of childcare this morning.”

“Of course,” he said. He turned to the little boy, noticing the cochlear implants in his ears. 

“Hello,” he said. “I’m Dr. Banner,” he signed, using the bit of ASL he had garnered from conversing with the ASL instructors at lunch. 

“Hi,” the toddler signed in return. And then he turned to his mother and signed _boy_. The toddler was clearly adept at communication. 

“I’m so sorry,” said Natasha quickly. 

“It’s fine,” Bruce said. “It’s just syllabus day. We’re not doing anything dangerous. He’s fine.”

The child in question turned in his mom’s arms and reached out for Bruce. 

Natasha flamed red, but Bruce took it in stride. 

“May I?” He asked. 

Natasha nodded. Bruce carefully took the baby in his arms and bounced him carefully. The baby gurgled, a small hand reaching up to play with Bruce’s hair. Bruce grinned, and that was how class began. 

-X- 

After class had ended Natasha stood and went to the front of the room to retrieve her son. Mikhail was still completely content and wholly focused on playing with the buttons on Dr. Banner’s shirt. 

Natasha tapped her son, and he shifted and reached out his arms for her. 

“Hi, bubba,” she signed. Mikhail flapped his arms. 

“Thank you so much,” said Natasha sincerely. 

“It’s no problem,” said Dr. Banner. “He’s very mild mannered and truly a pleasure.”

Someone tapped Natasha on the shoulder and Natasha spun around. 

“Hi,” the girl chirped. She had a broad grin and seemed quite perky. “I’m Jemma Simmons, and I’m on the school paper. I hope you don’t mind that I snapped a picture of Dr. Banner with your son. I was wondering if I could publish an article on today.” 

Natasha gave the girl a small smile. “That would be fine, great, actually,” she said. 

Later, Natasha would wonder if everything would have turned out differently if she hadn’t said yes.

**Author's Note:**

> Loved it? Hated it? Should I have written this sober? (I know the answer to the last one). But leave a comment and let me know!


End file.
